Rock Island Today

City of Kewanee City Council met May 27.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

The May 27th, 2025, Council Meeting was called to order at 6:02pm. Councilmembers Colomer, Cernovich, and Komnick were present along with Mayor Moore, City Manager Gary Bradley, City Attorney Zac Lessard, and City Clerk Kasey Mitchell. Councilmember Baker was absent.

A motion to go into Closed Session to discuss Personnel Section 2(c)(1), Collective Bargaining Section 2(c)(2), Purchase or Lease of Real Estate Section 2(c)(5), Litigation Section 2(c)(11), and Discussion of Closed Meeting Minutes Section 2(c)(21) was made by Councilmember Komnick and seconded by Councilmember Cernovich. Motion passed 4-0.

Councilmember Baker joined the Closed Session at 6:38pm.

A motion to adjourn to Regular Session was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Cernovich. Motion passed 5-0. Closed Session was adjourned at 7:08pm.

The May 27th, 2025, Council Meeting was called to order at 7:12pm in the Council Chambers. Councilmembers Colomer, Cernovich, Baker, and Komnick were present along with Mayor Moore, City Manager Gary Bradley, City Attorney Zac Lessard, and City Clerk Kasey Mitchell.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited, followed by a moment of silence for our troops.

The Consent Agenda was presented with the following items:

A. Minutes from the Closed Session and the Council Meeting on May 13, 2025.

B. Payroll for the pay period ending May 17th in the amount of $242,607.90.

C. Staff Reports

D. Bock Report

A motion to approve the consent agenda items was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Motion passed 5-0.

Bills for the Council Meeting of May 27th were presented in the amount of $235,040.60. A motion to approve payment of the bills was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Cernovich. Discussion: Councilmember Baker asked about a charge to Danko Emergency Equipment. Fire Captain Bennett Riber stated that is for turnout gear. They have a schedule to replace some of the equipment every year and this year’s purchase is grant funded. Motion passed 5-0.

Public Comments: Joel Hasse spoke to the Council two weeks ago about an issue with his yard after last year’s tornado clean up. He said that crews were out the next day to look at the issue and make a plan. It has since been taken care of. He is also concerned about traffic on Willard St. Drivers tend to go quickly and not make full stops. Deputy Police Chief Minx was in the room and spoke to him about these concerns.

New Business:

A. Bill 25-47 Ordinance approving and authorizing the execution of a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District Redevelopment Agreement by and between the City of Kewanee and VanDeVelde Wellness Center.

Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, is designed to help blighted areas by attracting new business, and/or assisting current businesses to grow. TIF can also be used for infrastructure. There are specific rules that must be followed in the allocation of TIF funds. Bill 25-47 deals with a request for TIF funds from VanDeVelde Wellness Center for new equipment.

A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Komnick and seconded by Councilmember Baker. Discussion: None. Motion passed 4-1 which Councilmember Cernovich being the sole Nay vote.

B. Bill 25-48 Resolution approving an Intergovernmental Agreement regarding water and sewer for the Splash Pad and a Memorandum of Understand regarding maintenance responsibilities of McKinley and West Parks.

This is a resolution for an intergovernmental agreement between the City and the Kewanee Park District. If passed, this agreement will offer reduced water fees for the new splash pad being constructed at Liberty Park and will develop maintenance responsibilities at McKinley and West Parks.

A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Cernovich. Discussion: Councilmember Komnick does not understand why we would provide free water to the Park District. Either way, residents will be paying for it, and we should try to be as transparent as possible. City Manager Gary Bradley said these are “good faith” agreements to show that each entity is willing to work with the other to better the community. With this agreement, the Park District would also take over maintenance of West and McKinley Parks as well as be responsible for the Windmont Lagoon. Both sides hope that these agreements will be more visible and transparent than previous agreements between them. The goal is that, with these exchanges, more time and money will be saved overall which will help ease the burden on the taxpayers. Mr. Bradley stated that the water will still be metered, and the City can track how much water is used and what the costs would have been. If there ends up not being a savings, the agreements can be terminated. Motion passed 4-1 with Councilmember Komnick being the sole Nay vote.

C. Bill 25-49 Resolution authorizing a Micro-Loan to Head Nods and High Fives. This would provide a micro-loan to Head Nods & High Fives. It will help business owner, Kevin Newton, with the purchase of the building at his present location, 202 N. Tremont St. Micro-loans given by the city are designed to assist businesses at a lower interest rate than conventional loans. City micro-loans are designed to be paid back in full. A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Komnick and seconded by Councilmember Baker. Discussion: Councilmember Baker asked why this was brought before them for a vote. Normally Micro-Loans are approved by the City Manager as they fall within his spending abilities. Because Mr. Newton was a City employee, Staff wanted it up for public discussion. Motion passed 4-0 with Councilmember Cernovich abstaining due to a family connection regarding the potential transaction.

D. Bill 25-50 Resolution adopting the Quad Cities-Kewanee-Muscatine Traffic Safety Action Plan and committing to Vision Zero.

The Traffic Safety Action Plan is designed to elicit ideas and actions from the three participating geographic areas, with a goal to reduce traffic fatalities or serious injury accidents at a rate of 2% each year. That means by year 2040, there would be zero traffic fatality or serious injury accidents. If this goal is met, Vision Zero will be successful. A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Discussion: Councilmember Cernovich asked if this requires any kind of commitment of duties or funds from the City. City Manager Bradley said that it does not require anything further from the City. We were part of a Safe Street for All Grant which brought municipalities together to identify transportation areas that needed focused on due to traffic incidents. At the end of the process, the Federal Government would like to see that the plan is adopted by the municipalities. Doing this will aid our eligibility for future grants. It will also help during street maintenance and planning as it will give us information to make certain areas safer and traffic friendly. Motion passed 5-0.

E. Bill 25-51 Resolution authorizing the City Manager and City Clerk to execute a Service Agreement with MGT for recruiting services.

MGT is a fee-based company that assists in locating qualified candidates for key positions within organizational structures.

A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Cernovich. Discussion: None. Motion passed 5-0.

F. Bill 25-52 Ordinance providing for and approving the Second Amendment to the Kewanee Downtown TIF District Redevelopment Project Area, Plan and Projects.

This is an ordinance to approve the Second Amendment of Kewanee’s Downtown TIF redevelopment Area, Plan and Projects. If passed, it would remove two small sections within that TIF District.

A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Discussion: City Manager Bradley stated that this approval would remove properties from the Downtown TIF area. Councilmember Cernovich would like to purchase these properties, but he is restricted, by law, from purchasing property within a TIF District while being a member of the Council. This is the process that is followed to remove the properties so that he can purchase them. Motion passed 4-0 with Councilmember Cernovich abstaining due to his involvement with the properties.

G. Bill 25-53 Resolution authorizing the Fire Chief to enter into a Mutual Intercept Agreement with Sheffield Rescue.

These types of agreements are very common between jurisdictional rescue units and are designed to give patients the best care possible under all circumstances. A motion to approve was made by Councilmember Baker and seconded by Councilmember Komnick. Discussion: This agreement does not obligate the City to anything. It just allows our EMS staff to assist Sheffield Rescue in treating patients and then allowing The City to bill Sheffield Rescue for these services. Motion passed 5-0.

H. Discussion Only: Water Rates

This is a discussion item only with water rates being the topic.

I. Discussion Only: TIF Criteria

This is also a discussion only item with TIF Criteria being the topic.

Mayor’s Communications: He offer condolences to family and friends of Jerry Grebner. Jerry was a long-time business owner in Kewanee, and a long-time member of KEDC as well as other organizations. One of many things he always appreciated about Jerry is, you always knew where you stood with him. He was straight forward and had no problem speaking his mind.

Many athletes from both Kewanee and Wethersfield schools competed at the state track meets. While he doesn’t have results from those teams, he understands they were very successful.

He congratulated all area graduates, especially those graduating from the Kewanee and Wethersfield school districts. He hopes all are successful in their future endeavors.

Once again, he had the privilege of attending and speaking at the Memorial Day Service held at Veteran’s Park by the Kewanee American Legion. It was a beautiful service, and the weather was just as good. Just as good as the weather, was Kewanee High School’s band. The Memorial Day service has always been one of his favorite events to attend.

Council Communications:

Cernovich: He also offered condolences to the Grebner family. He has lots of fond memories from working with him as a child. He then thanked Gary Bradley and Public Works for proactively working on service lines in the Downtown area prior to the revitalization project beginning. Finally, he thanked residents for staying engaged by asking questions and sharing concerns about different things. They are the eyes and ears that are out in the neighborhoods every day, and they will see stuff that Staff might not.

Baker: He also offered condolences to the Grebner family. His father used to work for Mr. Grebner. He then reported a resident’s issue with LRS not picking up their landscape bags. They live on a small one block dead end and often get missed. They have had to contact LRS three weeks in a row and still may not receive pick up. Staff replied that they would talk with LRS.

Komnick: He attended the Memorial Day service yesterday. He appreciates the effort by all involved as it is always a nice service that he looks forward to attending each year. He then mentioned Francis Park and the newly renovated trails. They are now ADA accessible, and

many people do not know that. He would like to find a way to get that information out there so that more can enjoy the area. He also noted 10-12 campers there and was glad that it is being utilized.

Colomer: He thanked those that have served in the military and those that gave their lives in service.

Announcements: The City-Wide Clean-Up is Saturday June 7th from 7am to Noon at the old hospital site. Residents should bring photo ID and Utility Bill.

A motion to adjourn was made by Councilmember Colomer and seconded by Councilmember Cernovich. Discussion: None. Motion passed 5-0 and the meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm.

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